Products currently exist which allow the interfacing of wireless and mobile wireless networks with conventional fixed telephone sets. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,997 and 4,658,096 to West Jr. et al. Such products are marketed under various brand names and are commonly known as a Fixed Wireless Interface (FWI). Typically installed in residential homes, in areas where conventional telephone service is difficult to obtain, FWIs can also for example be installed on boats, SUVs, mobile homes, or anywhere that conventional telephones need to operate on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and access to a wireless carrier network service (typically a PCS carrier) is available. The said products interface with conventional phones to provide dial tone, ringing, and conventional dial out capabilities, with access to the PSTN via a wireless connection to a wireless carrier network through the FWI's radio transceiver.
German patent application publication DE19803019 by Euscher provides a wireline PSTN access for a wireless phone subscriber. In the apparatus of Euscher, upon insertion of the wireless handset in a cradle, the phone changes modes to act as a wireless phone linked to the PSTN via conventional landline connectivy from a local residential base. This arrangement converts a wireless phone access to a wireline phone access.
Some manufacturers have recently developed what can be called Hybrid Fixed Wireless, Interfaces (HFWI) aka. cellphone-fed fixed/mobile interfaces or docking stations. Compared to conventional FWIs, where the radio transceiver is normally an integral part of and contained in the interface device, an HFWI features a transceiver which can be separated manually by the user from the interface device. This is because the radio transceiver is typically a conventional mobile cellular phone, rather than a radio transmitter and receiver device enclosed in a packaged unit. The portable mobile cellular phone can be freely coupled or uncoupled by the user to and from the HFWI through the physical placement of the mobile telephone handset on the HFWI, which also serves the purpose of a battery charger, with electrical connectors on the mobile telephone handset mating to electrical connectors on the HFWI. A form of such an arrangement is described in the International application WO 01/89959A1(IPR IND LTD; MARTENSSON NILS (GB) (2001 Sep. 20) However the description does not disclose any treatment afford to incoming calls received on the mobile cellular phone while it Is inserted in the docking station and as such does not satisfy the bi-directional call placement and reception capabilities of true HFWI. It discloses the docking station ability, on a call by call basis, to intercept outbound calls initiated on fixed or cordless telephones connected to it, and to direct such call through either the wireless mobile phone access or the wireline copper pair access. It also describes on an outbound call by call basis, that the docking station could have the ability assuming an outbound interception favorable to the mobile phone and system operator, to inform the operator of such an occurrence for the purpose of applying a different tarriff to that particular outbound call. Other applications such as the German application DE 100 14 677 A(BUECKERT SVEN) (2001 Sep. 20) or international application WO98/47300 CHEW,MOH,JIN (1997 Nov. 20) disclose docking stations that have bi-directional call placement and reception abilities, the first being capable of wireless interfacing between mobile cellular phones and analog fixed type phones and the latter electrical interfacing, both representing a more complete definition of HFWI.
HFWIs are typically intended to be placed In residential homes and/or SOHO (small office/home office) locations in order to allow conventional fixed telephone sets coupled to them to operate in a fashion similar to conventional fixed telephony conditions, while actually reaching the PSTN through wireless carrier network access. This is achieved through the Insertion of a cellular wireless handset in the HFWI, the cellular wireless handset communicating with the HFWI via a dataport (i.e. a communications interface).
Two drawbacks of currently available HFWIs which have slowed down considerably their acceptance and endorsement by wireless access carriers and, hence, the general public. Current HFWIs do not allow wireless carriers to adjust or customize billing and the type and quality of the carrier services provided to a customer based on the use of a handset in a fixed interfaced mode in conjunction with a HFWI. Also, currently available HFWI require various software and physical and electrical connectivity variations to pair cellular handsets to HFWIs.